Killing Dragons: The Conquest Of The Alps by Fergus Fleming (English) Paperback

Description: Killing Dragons by Fergus Fleming A hair-raising and hilarious account of the birth of mountaineering, from the days when dragons and other monsters were believed to reside on the mountain-tops, to modern-day competitive sport. FORMAT Paperback LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description Here be dragons, said the old maps. In the late 18th century a few brave men started to venture up the mountains of Switzerland to discover the secrets hidden in their snowy peaks. They took with them wine and brandy, wore ordinary shoes and had no protective clothing. Then the British arrived: a gallery of strange, obsessive explorers bent on conquering every Alpine summit. Mountaineering was born. Killing Dragons is a funny, wicked and witty history of the conquest of the Alps: full of wonderful and quite mad characters, it is impossible to put down. Author Biography Fergus Fleming is a freelance writer living in London and Gloucestershire. Educated at Oxford University and City University, London, he trained as an accountant and barrister and has worked as a furniture maker. Fergus is also the author of Amaryllis, a portrait of his aunt, and of several childrens books. Barrows Boys is published by Granta Books. Review Fleming shins up the sheer face of Alpine exploration...[and] is excellent at the detail, excitement and danger of specific climbs. Literary Review; [A] richly entertaining as well as highly informative read. Highly recommended. Focus; [Fleming] has now corne up with another equally stirring tale...a stylistic equivalent of the modern athlete-climber, leaping from peak to narrative peak...it is hard to imagine the story of men and mountains being told with more gusto. Sunday Telegraph; The story [is] as engrossing as any novel. Its wit and erudition make me think Ill never look at a glacier in the same way. [He] leaves us wanting more. Which, of course, after this excellent book, we do. Scotland on Sunday; Fleming attacks his theme with verve, mining entertainment from eccentric Alpinists, sensational ascents and grisly accidents. Food and Travel Magazine; Fergus Fleming kicks off his book as he continues - by spinning one ripping yarn after another, gleaned from exhaustive research into contemporary accounts. Daily Telegraph; Fergus Fleming[s]...excellent book...[is] a tremendously exciting...account of the mountaineers and their adventures. Fleming tells a ripping good yarn, of which there are dozens in the annals of Alpinism. Times Literary Supplement; ...it is hard to picture the unassailable, mysterious Alps of the past, but in Flemings book, they come to glorious life...[a] wonderful book... Evening Standard; Flemings latest is great fun. An invigorating read Time Out; Killing Dragons is more scientifically alluring and anecdotally toothsome than most travel books, as well as being riddled with improbably hilarious tales of doomed Brits striding up the Matterhorn in boating blazers Tim Moore, Daily Mail; Fergus Fleming [has] an eye for a good story, an appalling scandal or disaster, a savoury fact or intriguing character The Independent Promotional Here be dragons, said the old maps ... In the late eighteenth century, a few brave men started to venture up the mountains of Switzerland to discover the secrets hidden in their snowy peaks. Then the British arrived and mountaineering was born. This is a history of the conquest of the Alps. Kirkus UK Review So feared by the valley dwellers that they couldnt even bring themselves to give the peaks a name - alp was merely their word for a high pasture - Europes mightiest mountains were a terrifying enigma until the late 18th century. Only then did scientists begin dragging their barometers up the glaciers and ice walls, still half-expecting to confront the dragons said to inhabit those lonely, hostile summits. In their wake came the adventurers, and as the author of Barrows Boys, an account of 19th century British Polar exploration, Fleming again demonstrates an indulgent fondness for those who blundered cheerfully into the unknown, unprepared and ill-equipped, fuelled only by what one Victorian critic called an unhealthy craving for excitement. Swiss professors hosting balls on the glacier; whistling Englishmen in cricket flannels and light boating attire hauling crates of champagne up sheer rock faces; aunts and nephews taking their dog for a walk that got out of hand - Flemings glee as he runs through an improbable cast list is infectious. No less involving is the breathless relish with which he describes the increasing recklessness of the ascents, as a genuine spirit of enquiry dissolved into frenzied, nationalistic peak-bagging. Scores of Englishmen toppled off the Matterhorn or were pulped by avalanches, their awful deaths inspiring a spin-off contest as pioneering glaciologists competed to predict when the ice rivers would disgorge those eerily well-preserved remains. You have made racecourses of the cathedrals of the earth, wailed Ruskin, but few listened. In a final burst of suicidal patriotism, a dozen of Jitlers lemmings sacrificed themselves aiming for the Alps last prize, the Elgers north face. A rare combination of impeccable research and page-turning effervescence, Flemings account of the nonchalant eccentrics who crossed Europes final frontier is an appropriate triumph of swashbuckling understatement. Reviewed by Tim Moore. Editors note: Tim Moore is the author of Frost on my Moustache (Kirkus UK) Long Description Here be dragons, said the old maps. In the late 18th century a few brave men started to venture up the mountains of Switzerland to discover the secrets hidden in their snowy peaks. They took with them wine and brandy, wore ordinary shoes and had no protective clothing. Then the British arrived: a gallery of strange, obsessive explorers bent on conquering every Alpine summit. Mountaineering was born. Killing Dragons is a funny, wicked and witty history of the conquest of the Alps: full of wonderful and quite mad characters, it is impossible to put down. Details ISBN1862074534 Author Fergus Fleming Pages 400 Publisher Granta Books Year 2001 ISBN-10 1862074534 ISBN-13 9781862074538 Format Paperback Publication Date 2001-08-22 Imprint Granta Books Place of Publication London Country of Publication United Kingdom DEWEY 796.5220949 Illustrations 16 maps Birth 1959 Media Book Edition 1st Subtitle The Conquest Of The Alps Short Title Killing Dragons Language English UK Release Date 2001-08-22 AU Release Date 2001-08-22 Audience General NZ Release Date 2001-10-31 We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:936848;

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